Fireside Poachers Love
by LoganAlpha30
Summary: AU of Season 8 during the break, right after the poachers attacked Ty, if Amy and the others have learned of the attack rather than it just passing them all by. Ty/Amy.


**FIRESIDE POACHERS LOVE**

**Author's Note: I don't own any of the characters.**

Heartland

The fire crackled warmly in the hearth though the heat it gave off did little to warm her or lift her spirits. In fact the heat seemed to almost rob her of what warmth and heat she still felt. Every subtle or outright determined glance over at Ty's sleeping form on the couch tugged at her heartstrings and made her wince outwardly in pain even though he was the one bearing the dark bruises. Each and every time that her gaze would fall on one of the blemishes a gnawing dread would form in the pit of her stomach before a scene of what had led to them would soon follow and it made her queasy to even contemplate. Ty had been more than mum about how he had come by the bruises however she knew enough to know that the man that she loved had nearly been beaten to death hours before she had gone to the trailer to yell at him. It chilled her to the bone that she hadn't really noticed anything out of the ordinary until she had shoved him into the trailers counter and he had been unable to get off of the floor when she had gone back inside to give him another piece of her mind. The sight of him on the ground still made her want to throw up, especially when she thought about it and focused her attention on the bruises.

"How's he doing," Lou asked softly as she carefully tiptoed into the room and stopped just behind Amy's chair, craning her neck to get as good of a look at Ty as she could without standing directly over him.

"Dead to the world," Amy replied with a nod of her head back towards her room as she slowly and quietly got up out of the chair nearest to the couch and followed Lou out of the living room.

"Isn't that a good thing, with those bruises he could use some time to rest and recover…has he said anything about where he got them," Lou finally asked aloud as loudly as she dared as she shut Amy's bedroom door behind them and turned to face her little sister who was now sitting on her bed.

"He hasn't said much of anything to me, he's only here because I threatened to move into the trailer with him if he didn't…I'm worried Lou," Amy replied with a clearly nervous shrug of her shoulders before she found that she couldn't look her older sister in the eye and so she averted her gaze to her nightstand, though it had a picture of her and Ty together in happier times, forcing her to stare down at her hands, finally grumbling in frustration at the sight of her engagement ring. It was the very same ring that he had slid onto her finger those long months ago and the one in which she now prayed upon in the hopes that this would all clear up sooner rather than later and that she would get to replace it with a wedding ring.

"About what, you don't think that he's gotten himself involved in something…do you," Lou offered up, looking visibly uneasy at the suggestion, as she walked over and sat down on the bed beside Amy and pulled her into a short lived hug.

"Of course not…I mean…I don't know, ever since…Lou…I'm scared," Amy immediately shot back before she actually thought about it for a few seconds and guessed that while unlikely it was possible that Ty had gotten himself into trouble and the bruises were the result.

"Why," Lou asked softly as she leaned forward a bit so that she could get a good look at Amy's face and judge every single little nuance of the blonde's reaction to her question.

"What if this is just the start of something, he gets into trouble and gets sent away to prison…or worse…I never see him again and we…we don't get a chance to fix this," Amy began to say back as she stared off into space, blurring her vision a bit as she was actually not looking at anything in particular, with her hands scrunching up her comforter as both were tightly clenched into fists and her knuckles almost turning white at the end.

"D…do you want to…fix this," Lou nervously asked hesitantly as she hoped that she already knew the answer but she really just wanted to both hear Amy actually say the words and again watch her reaction just to make absolutely sure.

"Of course, I've never wanted anything more," Amy stated without the slightest shred of doubt anywhere in her heart or soul as she vaulted herself up off of the bed so fast that Lou barely had time to feel the weight leave the bed before it was done.

"So then everything with Prince…," Lou began anxiously as she half looked up at Amy who was now pacing around the room looking like a person who wanted to crawl out of her own skin from having an incredibly huge problem to face and not having a clue how to go about it.

"There never was anything with him Lou, it was just that stupid kiss…that stupid kiss and your stupid…," Amy growled angrily with fire in her eyes and her fists tightly clenched into fists while stomping around the room, though Lou knew in her heart that all of her little sisters anger was now directed inwards rather than any of it being cast in her direction before she chose her words carefully and then spoke back up.

"I'm sorry Amy…really, I never should have told you not to tell Ty, that's on me…but maybe…maybe Ahmed knew that you and Ty were fighting all of the time and maybe you forgot to wear your ring a few times and he thought that you two were on the outs, so…," Lou tried to softly offer up a devil's advocate scenario of what she thought might have led to the kiss and the subsequent break with Ty without making it sound like she was placing all of the blame on Amy, hoping to not further anger her younger sister.

"So…so what…what are you saying Lou," Amy demanded through watery eyes as she struggled against herself to keep her emotions in check and worried that some of what Lou had said was accurate, mentally kicking herself for anything that she did that could have contributed to the kiss, even without meaning to.

"So perhaps Ahmed thought that you and Ty were about to split up and took a chance, you certainly didn't seem that upset with him until we talked after the kiss," Lou awkwardly answered with a shrug of her shoulders as she kept her body tense in anticipation if Amy got to angry and either threw something or turned her anger towards anyone other than herself.

"I never said anything to him about Ty and I breaking up," Amy stated fiercely as she sounded like she was trying to make it the truth just by how forcefully she had said the words before Lou could swallow and open her mouth again.

"But maybe you vented to him about how you and Ty were having some problems…," Lou wondered aloud with a curious but nervous smile as she stood up and set her hands on Amy's shoulders in an attempt to try and calm her down, if only a little bit.

"Well…maybe, but I wasn't trying to tell him to do anything about it," Amy softly mumbled back as she really thought about it before she feared that Lou was right and the heavy weight in the pit of her stomach gained a few pounds and she suddenly felt far worse about herself, ignoring for the moment any further bits of anger that were threatening to creep up.

"Probably not, but you do seem to get into trouble with guys like him," Lou cautiously reminded Amy with a general pat on her shoulders with both hands as the youngest member of the family tried to smile back at first before she grew a bit confused.

"Meaning…what," Amy said with a slightly confused look to her as she stood up a bit straighter and looked Lou right back in the eye as she was trying to figure out what her older sister meant.

"Well it's like with Chase, you two got really close and you didn't push him away until after he kissed you, you'd better watch it Amy, or else it'll be a pattern…next hot guy that you work with you might flirt with unintentionally and he could get the wrong idea and…," Lou explained carefully as she stepped back away from Amy and then sat back down onto the bed and tried to smile up at her younger sister and lightly pat the place on the bed next to her.

"Chase was a mistake from start to finish and Ahmed…well…a comedy of errors that will probably split Ty and I up forever...," Amy answered clearly and confidently at first before she let out a rather rueful laugh at her own expense and had to blink back the tears that were now trickling down her cheeks as she sat back down on the bed beside her big sister.

"Only if you let it Amy, you still love him and want to spend the rest of your life with him right," Lou reminded her with a stern but caring tone of voice before she defaulted into a warm smile and gave Amy a very strong hug of support.

"YES," Amy exclaimed as loudly as she dared so as to not wake Ty up while still getting across to Lou that she was serious, or as loudly as she could muster by drawing breath with her big sister squeezing her so hard.

"Then get in there and talk to him the second that he wakes up and don't stop talking to him until you two fix things," Lou exclaimed with a tone of voice that she often used to explain things to her daughters as she let go of Amy and then teasingly smacked her softly on the back with an open palm in a slight shove up off of the bed and towards the door.

"But what if he doesn't want to talk to me," Amy worried out loud as she got halfway to the door before turning around on her heel and looking back at Lou, seemingly asking her to either come with her or give her some more encouraging words of wisdom.

"Well then…Dad can hold him down until he changes his mind…after all…it's not like he can really fight back in his condition," Lou offered up with a dirty little smirk on her lips as she stood up and brushed the wrinkles out of her jeans and then reached for the doorknob, stopping with her hand on it just as she was about to turn it.

"Dad…really, knowing how he feels about Ty right now…he'd probably try to…no…not Dad…anybody but Dad…," Amy countered with a look of true disbelief on her face as she turned back from the doorway to lightly scowl at her big sister and cross her arms across her chest.

"Okay then Grandpa…or Scott, maybe if Ty won't talk to you about what's going on then he might talk to one of them about it, then you just ask them," Lou playfully scoffed with a pained smile as she inwardly admitted that asking her father to help her get the truth out of Ty was a really bad idea and so she offered up a far more reasonable possibility.

"But even if that worked, would they tell me," Amy groaned impatiently as she leaned back against the wall next to her door and slid her hands into her pockets, staring at the tops of her socks and wondering how she had gotten them so dirty.

"Grandpa would…Dad would probably try to handle things himself knowing him, but before you and Ty can fix things you have to make sure that there aren't any other secrets that you've been hiding from him about your time with Ahmed in Europe, no videos of you two dancing romantically under the stars at some gala or at some fancy restaurant…nothing at all like that," Lou added with a jolt of inspiration as she was worried that there was something more than the short video that could derail the chances of Amy and Ty working things out and getting back together so that their future together could get started.

"No Lou, at least…not that I can remember, I spent most of my time working," Amy replied as she slowly shook her head and tried to smile, glad that as far as she knew there weren't any such videos that could cause her any more trouble of that kind, being thankful for small miracles.

"And then one last thing, if you two do manage to work things out and get hitched…whatever you do, don't go anywhere on your honeymoon that you and the Prince visited, the last thing that you need while you two are trying to have the time of your lives is for some waiter or maître d to ask about who Ty is or bring up some story about how he thought that you and Ahmed were a couple when you visited, that would not go over very well with Ty," Lou pointed out to Amy with a serious but concerned smile as she set a hand on her shoulder and gave it a supportive squeeze before pulling her visibly nervous and anxious little sister into another warm hug.

"Trust me Lou, I don't see that happening, besides…I want that even less than Ty would, if possible I'd rather just forget that I ever went to Europe and messed everything up that mattered to me," Amy finally said softly after being released from the hug as she wiped away a couple of tears, her thumb unconsciously moving to rub the underside of her engagement ring as if the mere physical contact gave the blonde strength.

"Then you need to get in there and start talking to Ty, and don't stop until he tells you the truth about how he got injured and the wedding is back on and the two of you are happy…because right now I can't take any more relationship drama," Lou determinedly stated as she looped one arm around Amy and set her other free hand onto the doorknob and turned it fully but did not open the door, making it a point to not catch Amy's gaze with her own.

"Is there something that you're not telling me Lou, is everything okay with…," Amy started to ask, her voice full of genuine concern, as she started to slip out of Lou's embrace but the elder sister firmly held her in place before she said anything.

"Everything's fine Amy, and besides we're talking about you remember, you and Ty…so get in there and talk to him while there still is a you and him…now," Lou declared strongly as she gave Amy one last one armed hug before gently and ever so carefully pulling the door open just a little bit, though not enough for either to slip out of the room.

"Okay," Amy reluctantly agreed with a very nervous nod of her head before she swallowed hard and slid out of Lou's embrace and stepped out into the hallway.

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Heartland-The Living Room-A Few Minutes Later

She heard voices coming from the living room as soon as she stepped foot out of her room and back into the hallway. She couldn't quite make them out at first as she was too far away and they were speaking to softly. She carefully padded down the hallway until she could duck around the corner and be able to keep watch while at the same time hear what the trio were saying without being noticed. Ty had woken back up and was sitting at one end of the couch while Jack sat in the chair that Amy had previously occupied and Tim sat in the chair opposite that one. The trio appeared to be deep in conversation, though Amy could tell from how he was sitting that Ty probably felt like he was being interrogated, at least by Tim.

"How much do you owe," Tim asked pointedly even though he tried to make it sound as if he were just fishing for possibilities of what might have happened to Ty, and neither other man in the room missed the point.

"Why do you think I owe anybody," Ty demanded back, not liking either the implication of the question or its tone especially given who had asked it, as he curled his toes up and tightly clenched his hands into fists to keep his temper in check. He had enough going on with Amy and his beating that the least thing that he needed was for Tim to accuse him of something that he hadn't even done.

"Well usually friends don't beat each other within an inch of their life over anything but money, so you must owe a lot," Tim shot back impatiently as he scooted forward in his seat and looked right at Ty, completely ignoring the rather impatient and frustrated scowl that Jack was sending him when he wasn't checking out Ty's reaction for the truth.

"I don't owe anybody, at least not money," Ty reluctantly admitted with as big of a shrug of his shoulders as he could without his body being wracked with pain from the beating that he had taken.

"Then why don't you tell us both how you got into this mess before Tim gets any more bright ideas," Jack grumbled out impatiently as he kept his eye on Ty as he knew that Tim wanted to say a whole lot more on the subject but he didn't have any interest in hearing about it just then.

"Fine, I've been working with Bob…he runs that preserve on the other side of town, past the river…he rehabilitates injured animals and the like," Ty unhappily started to answer before his tone calmed a bit and he did his best to explain things as quickly as possible, hopefully without giving Tim something to latch onto for him to complain about over and over again.

"So then he's the one that did this to you," Tim started to interject as he had clearly missed the point and Ty could sense Jack starting to sit up in his chair and get ready with something laced with simple common sense to remind Tim of his place but the former bad body continued before the older man could get anything out.

"No, Bob didn't have anything to do with this…a few days ago he told me about some poachers that he'd run across a couple of times, they kill a healthy bear just for its gall bladder and such then sell it on the black market for a lot of money," Ty replied shaking his head, thankful to get off of the topic of Bob as Ty knew that Tim would probably have more than a few things to say about his new friend, before he started to launch into the reasons for what had started it all. Hiding in the darkness both Amy and Lou felt a bit sick to their stomachs at the thought of perfectly healthy bears being killed for so little.

"Always someone looking to make a quick buck unfortunately," Jack grouched angrily as his hands clenched up into fists on the armrests of his chair as he truly hated even the thought of poachers.

"Yeah well Bob and I set up one of those wildlife cameras to catch the poachers in the act so that we could take the tape to the authorities, then they could arrest those bastards, and we had the footage that we needed to do it," Ty hurried to keep going before Tim could get a word in edgewise though he was encouraged by the fact that Jack seemed to clearly be on his side in the argument against the poachers and that he hadn't done anything wrong. None of the three men in the room noticed the worried looks on the sister's faces from the darkness where they were hiding.

"So then what went wrong," Tim countered, still not convinced of Ty's innocence, as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms across his chest, earning him a future scolding from his oldest daughter for the look on his face and the one of his voice.

"Somehow the poachers found out about the tape and where I lived…I was sitting there in my trailer reading and thought I heard something outside, I went to look but didn't see anything, next thing I know one of them has my arms pinned to my sides and the other one…well…you can see his handiwork," Ty nervously answered back through the pain as he still couldn't figure out how the poachers had learned his identity while he recalled the events that had landed him in this predicament. It was that explanation of the truth behind his injuries that caused silent tears to trickle down Amy's cheeks and she had to fight against herself to keep from audibly sniffling and revealing their eavesdropping.

"Do you have any idea who they were," Tim demanded as he uncrossed his arms and set his elbows on the tops of his thighs, leaning forward to get a good look at Ty as he was still not fully sure that Ty was telling them everything, but Jack seemed content with his answer.

"Not a clue, we never really got on a first name basis Tim, they took the camera and the footage too, but I can tell you this…if they'd do this to me then I don't even want to think of what they'd do to…I'll die before I let them lay a finger on Amy or Lou or…," Ty shook his head slowly back and forth as he spoke with one arm wrapped defensively around his midsection as that most onerous bruise was beginning to really smart before his voice deepened with absolute resolution that he would never let anyone hurt Amy, no matter what it cost him.

"Don't go falling on your sword just yet Ty, besides if they try to come after you again then you won't be alone," Jack softly cautioned his hopefully future grandson in law as he held a warding hand out in the hopes that Tim would not jump the gun and say something stupid. But as per usual Jack's hopes were quickly dashed, no matter how badly they were mirrored by Lou and Amy's hopes.

"Whoa, let's not get ahead of ourselves here," Tim started to object with a cheesy grin and rolling of his eyes as he started to stand up but was stopped halfway up by Jack's response.

"Tim, would you grow a backbone for once in your life…I have a feeling that if those poachers wanted you dead then you would be…in the morning you can give a statement to the police and they can take it from there…but that can wait, right now you need to talk to Amy," Jack spat out angrily as he momentarily gave serious thought to decking Tim but decided against it only because in the event of said punch being thrown he would be the one that would have to end up cleaning up Tim's blood. After the initial glare towards Tim Jack focused the rest of his words onto Ty, who remained quiet at first.

"I…I don't know if that's such a good idea Jack, what could I possibly offer her that…that…he couldn't, she deserves a whole lot better than me," Ty somberly answered with as good of a shrug of his shoulders as he could muster without causing himself a torrent of pain as he fought back his emotions before Tim cut in.

"Damn right she does," Tim started sharply with an almost mocking tone of voice as again he only barely missed Lou having to dig her fingernails into Amy's shoulder to keep her from throttling their father, at least for the time being.

"Do you actually think before you start spewing out all that hot air Tim, Amy deserves the man that she's head over heels in love with…the man that is just as much in love with her…and besides it's her choice not yours…thankfully," Jack exclaimed in a heated fit of anger as he rose to his feet and glared down at his former son in law, who only regarded him with a cocky grin with dollar signs in his eyes.

"But he's so rich and famous and…," Tim tried to argue, still with dollar signs in his eyes, as a very eager and greedy grin consumed his mouth, with dreams of a possible future where money was no object bouncing around in his head before Ty cut in.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence there Tim…but after that video I don't know what she wants anymore," Ty snapped back as lightly as possible as he fought against the urge to wring the older man's neck before his heart hurt at the memory of the video that night at dinner, an utterly humiliating and embarrassing event for him if there ever was one.

"Well she…," Jack started to say to try to both defend his younger granddaughter and hope to get across to Ty that in his mind Amy wanted him and not the Prince however after the video that certainty had taken a hit.

"I want you Ty, only you…not Caleb, not Chase, NOT AHMED," Amy exclaimed out of the blue, legitimately startling all three men in the living room as they all gave a jump, as she jerked herself away from her older sisters grasp with fire in her eyes and stormed into the room to finally come to a stop directly in front of the fire with her hands tightly clenched up into fists and her gaze boring a hole right through Ty.

"Amy," Ty guffawed out of sheer surprise and confusion as had he been perfectly healthy he probably would have stood up, but because of his injuries any such attempt was inevitably futile, and he knew it in a heartbeat.

"No Ty, I…," Amy started to go on, still with the fire in her eyes but it had been tempered so that it was bold and serious but not angry any longer, as she tried to unclench her fists a little bit, in the hope that she wasn't making Jack think that she was going to start swinging away at her fiancé.

"I think that's our cue to give them some privacy, come on you," Jack nervously said to both Ty and Amy, with a we'll talk later look towards a visibly uneasy Lou, before he stepped around Amy with a supportive smile at her and then glared down at Tim, hoping that he wouldn't cause any more problems tonight.

"But," Tim tried to object as even though he knew that he wasn't going to win the argument he still wanted to file his complaint on not having a say as Jack took hold of his shoulder and started to direct him out of the house.

"Just go Dad, before I'm forced to do something that you'll regret," Lou countered with a clearly less than pleased expression, prompting Tim to be reminded that Jack was her grandfather, before she softened with a smile towards Ty and Amy and then began to push and shove Tim out of the living room.

"Good night you two…and good luck," Jack called back over his shoulder as he and Lou teamed up to make sure that Tim couldn't get another word in edgewise and had fully left the house, leaving Ty and Amy alone together at Heartland for the first time in several weeks.

"Thanks," Both Ty and Amy replied more out of habit and happiness that Tim was gone than anything else before the smiles dropped from their lips as they glanced back at each other.

"Amy listen…," Ty began to say hesitantly as his voice was oddly beginning to fail him as he tried to keep it together, looking at her without just taking her into his arms and never letting her go.

"No Ty you listen, I meant what I said, I want you…now and for the rest of my life, I want the truck driving motorcycle riding bad boy that revved his engine and spooked my horse, that bad boy that opened my eyes past Heartland…the…the…," Amy startled him into silence with a sharp poke to his chest as she got right up in his face looking very fierce and determined at first before all of that fire and passion seemed to fade quickly as she began to struggle to keep herself under control and not break down.

"The bad boy that you…couldn't trust with…," Ty tried to get out as he fought back his own tears while looking her straight in the eye before he had to turn away as he couldn't continue speaking or seeing the look on her face.

"I…I'm sorry Ty, again…I know that's a pathetic apology but…," Amy started to say to try and counter Ty's very grim and sullen mood before he turned back to her and held a hand up to stop her momentarily.

"No Amy…what's pathetic is that I've been here for eight long years and what do I have to show for it, I thought that I…we…were building to something really special…but now…everything that I have would still fit in my truck…I'm not better now than I was when I came here and…," Ty replied softly with a slow shaking of his head as he started off staring at her chin rather than her eyes before he couldn't even do that and he started to turn away from her back towards the couch.

"NO," Amy nearly screamed out angrily as she grabbed Ty by the shoulders and kept him from turning away from her any further, no longer even trying to hide the tears that were silently trickling down her cheeks in the firelight.

"It's true Amy, Tim hates me…and you…the first chance you got for something better than me you took it and…just admit it, you're going to leave me behind…after all I'll only ever hold you back…you could be such a bright star and I…I…, I could never hope to compete…," Ty softly cautioned her with a very defeated expression as he hung his head and she could feel his shoulders slump before she led him back over to the couch and made him sit back down, looking up at her as she cut in before he could say anything more.

"Stop…please…Ty…please stop, my father does not hate you…exactly, he just…well…I don't care what he thinks about you anymore, I am not going to leave you behind…I couldn't even if I wanted to…and stop thinking that you've ever held me back, because it's just the opposite…because of you…of us…I…you gave me the love and confidence and support that I needed to be able to reach my potential, yes I could be great in the spotlight…I could…just like my dad, but in my heart of hearts that's not me…at least I hope and pray that it's not, the real me…you know the real me Ty," Amy begged him softly with a clearly pleading tone to her words as she kept her hands on his shoulders and hoped that he would look up at her and see the sincerity and love in her eyes but all that he could manage was to drop his head into his hands with his elbows on the tops of his knees and try to keep from breaking down, though he listened to every word and took them to heart.

"I thought that I did, but then you…," Ty began to respond as he tried to lift his head up a bit before his voice broke and he went silent, scaring Amy more than a fair bit as she got down onto her knees in between his legs and moved her hands from his shoulders to his wrists, attempting to pull his hands away from his face as her own face was very wet with tears.

"I screwed up Ty, you're right, I've made a hell of a lot of bad choices lately starting with every agreeing to go to Europe with Ahmed, I let things…let us…slip too far away, I didn't try hard enough and I am truly sorry…more sorry than you'll ever know, I never should have let myself get into a situation where he ever thought that he had a chance and I never should have kissed him, that's on me…all of it, and I should have told you…again…Lou told me not to tell you but it was my choice in the end, it's tearing me up inside to know how much I hurt you…the man that I love…the man that I don't want to ever live without….the man that I want to spend the rest of my life with…that man is you Ty, I know that you're afraid that I no longer want to be with you but that couldn't be further from the truth," Amy admitted through her wall of tears as her nose was starting to bother her and she had to sniffle a few times to clear it enough to keep breathing normally as she managed to pull his hands away from his face and her heart froze in her chest at the sight of the hurt in his eyes and the tears wetting his own cheeks.

"So then where do we go from here Amy, I mean I know what I want, I just need to know what your plans are…that I haven't wasted these last eight years on…us…," Ty demanded without a trace of anger or hate in his voice where in fact he seemed to be struggling to get the words out given how much physical and emotional pain he was in due to his injuries and the slew of possible answers that Amy could give.

"Does this answer your question Ty, I haven't taken it off since…I wear it because of what it meant…and I hope what it still means, for us…that we spend the rest of our lives…together, and no matter what you say I'm going to keep wearing it until you replace it with my wedding ring…that…that is what I want Ty, I don't care if I ever see Ahmed again and I have no plans to ever go back to Europe, remember that for the honeymoon," Amy explained with a stifled breath and sniffle as she raised her left hand up in front of Ty's face, with her palm facing away from him, to show him that she was wearing the engagement ring that he had given her those now long months earlier as she fought against herself to not clench her hand into a fist as her right hand then found a landing spot on his cheek as she used the pad of her thumb to gently wipe away his tears. It was all that she could do to keep from leaning in and kissing him but she held herself back.

"The honeymoon," Ty couldn't help but reply with the slightest trace of a grin that briefly added a bit of levity to the situation before a hurt frown dominated the day of his countenance.

"Yeah…I'm thinking somewhere nice…warm and sunny," Amy responded with a little girlish laugh as she tried to pass it all off as simply being a lighthearted moment between the two as if they'd been having a relaxed and calm conversation rather than one in an attempt to rescue their flailing and faltering relationship before it coded.

"Just as long as it's nowhere in Europe, I'm never going to Europe," Ty replied with a very honest and serious scowl as he relayed the one place that he wanted to go least of all, and Amy knew that there would never be any changing of his mind about it, not that she expected to ever have any interest in doing so.

"I wish I could say that I'd never been…never…if only…," Amy admitted somberly with a bit of bitterness in her voice as she dragged her gaze away from Ty's face enough so that he couldn't see her very conflicted feelings about her trip. There had been plenty to love about the trip, and she had, however the cost had quickly become more than she ever thought that she could pay. In her heart she had begun to wonder if she'd somehow had the choice to make over again whether she would have gone at all, or if she had she knew that she would have done a whole lot differently, starting with finding a way for Ty to come with her.

"If only…if only my father hadn't abandoned us…if only my mom hadn't had a drinking problem, if only she hadn't married a couple of bastards that liked to knock her around and then beat me senseless…if only you hadn't…my dad left me, my mother left me, you…left me…why does everyone I love leave me…what did I do wrong…am I really that bad," Ty couldn't help but argue ruefully, almost sounding to Amy like he was mocking her final words which caused another rather painful clenching of her heart as she felt as it were breaking all over again because of her, before she saw the tears in his eyes and she knew that they'd gotten past the protective shield that he'd always put up when things got emotional and she could tell that they were getting somewhere.

"Okay Ty…stop, I get it…we could go on like this forever…honestly…I was mad at you for investing in Charger and rather than talking to you about it like adults we argued too much…I got mad and ran away from our problems…which only ended up causing us both a whole lot of new problems, I can't say that I'll never make another mistake because I will…you will…we're human," Amy said softly as she held her hands up in mock defeat and couldn't help but allow a few tears to slip down her cheeks as she joined him in letting her guard down fully and admitting to the trail of mistakes that had led to their current predicament, finally trying to end on and up note.

"What are you trying to say Amy," Ty questioned aloud with a growing pit of concern and fear in his stomach as he saw it as Amy telling him that she was going to screw up over and over again, and that had him very worried.

"I'm trying to say that whether you believe me or not I am truly sorry Ty, sorry for hurting you as badly as I did, I never wanted to…I never wanted to…but I did…being apart from you has been very…painful, I miss you Ty, I love you Ty," Amy took a deep breath before answering as she knew that she had to choose her words carefully and try to keep herself from rambling on and on or saying the wrong thing as she steadied herself and looked Ty right in the eye the entire time, making sure that he wouldn't misunderstand anything that she was telling him.

"I love you to Amy…it's why this is so hard, I just can't believe that…," Ty softly began to say back to her with an almost haunted look in his eyes as he looked very uncomfortable to be having to think about such things before he let his voice trail off as he got to a very difficult portion of what had transpired.

"I know…trust me…I know, I can't believe I did it either, it makes me sick to my stomach to even think about…wasn't even that good of a kiss really, not…not as good as yours," Amy replied quickly before he could continue as she let out a very guilty and upset with herself chuckle and smile before once again going with the honest truth and just hoping for the best, also dreading any memory of how they'd come to this point.

"Looked like you liked the kiss on the video, you didn't exactly…," Ty answered grimly as he hung his head and Amy couldn't help but shed a few more tears and fight back a sob at the heartbroken look on his face and the hurt in his voice before she could manage to compose herself enough to say anything back to him.

"Do what I should have done and stopped him before it happened…or at the very least pushed him away afterwards and told him that it shouldn't have happened and wouldn't ever happen again, yeah…as weak as it is Ty all that I can say is that I am truly sorry for it and tell you that if you give me the chance I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you…please Ty…or else…," Amy finished for him with a very guilty look to her and tone to her words as it left no doubt in Ty's mind that she meant what she said, he just wished that if would make everything better in a heartbeat, but that didn't happen. At the very end she raised an eyebrow and playfully smirked.

"Oh really…or else…what…," Ty asked nervously as he sat back fully upright regardless of how much pain it caused him as he wasn't quite sure just what Amy was getting at given the odd look that she was giving him.

"Or…else…I…might…just…have…to…resort…to…dirty…tactics…," Amy whispered softly with a devilish little smirk on her lips as she punctuated each word with a kiss, starting off with kisses to the top of Ty's head and then forehead, cheeks, backs of his hands and then finally his chin, as she wasn't sure if she had tried to kiss Ty directly on the lips if he would have let her and she was too scared to find out just then.

"Oh really…you playing dirty, now that's something I'd pay to see," Ty laughed back warmly at first before his face fell and he had to force himself to say the rest of it as he could feel the warmth from Amy's body as she was so close to him, and their nearness but being so far apart was really beginning to take its toll on his emotions.

"If that's what it takes for you to forgive me Ty I'd do it for free…but in the end I can apologize till I'm blue in the face and it won't matter at all unless you forgive me and…," Amy confidently replied with an honest look in her eyes as the two locked gazes long enough for both to see the love in each other's eyes before they broke the connection rather reluctantly.

"Forgiving is one thing, forgetting is a whole other story, I don't think...," Ty pointed out with a less than pleased tone to his words as he momentarily thought about standing up and stepping away from her but the pain in his chest and side told him otherwise.

"I understand Ty…I do, I'm not asking you to forget anything, but I want…no…I need us to move past this…somehow," Amy sadly answered, looking more than hurt, before she swallowed hard and looked away, biting her lip to keep from making any sound to admit how scared she now had become by his words.

"For like the first couple of weeks after…it was like every time that I closed my eyes all that I could see was that damn video and you…it just hurt to be near you…hurt to hear you voice, hurt to love you…," Ty relayed his inner pain since the break had started with a voice full of emotion, causing Amy to nearly become sick with the painful contracting of her stomach and the sensation that her heart had stopped beating and become shattered into thousands of tiny pieces, as he leaned back up against the couch and cast his gaze into the fire as he was unable to send it in Amy's general direction.

"A…and now," Amy fearfully stuttered through her tears as she tried to get back up off of her knees but her body seemed either unwilling or unable to follow her commands and the best that she could do was to lean to one side a bit and practically sit on her heels for the time being.

"I still love you…it still hurts just…not as much, I know I've stayed away from you Amy, but not because I didn't want to see you or didn't care what happened to you…I just knew that if I held you…or kissed you…that…that…," Ty painfully admitted while allowing his vision of the flames in the fireplace to blur as he wasn't really paying much attention to it as his hands began to shake ever so slightly from the emotion now being more painful than his injuries before Amy cut him off.

"What Ty," Amy whispered softly as she hoped that she knew the part of his answer that he just couldn't quite bring himself to openly admit to just yet but tried not to let it show in her expression as she scooted forward until she couldn't go any further forward because the couch was in the way.

"That if I did either of those things I'd never be able to stop," Ty told her through the tears trickling down his cheeks as he had to dig his fingernails into the palms of his hands to keep himself from taking Amy by the shoulders and kissing her for all that he was worth, a very tall order given how beautiful he thought that she looked in the firelight.

"Would you want to stop Ty…because I wouldn't…I couldn't stop, it's killing me to not be able to talk to you, to touch you, hold you, kiss you, just…be…with you, and I know that I caused it but…," Amy countered a bit with her heartbreak and every other emotion that she was feeling at that moment leaking into her voice as the tears continued to slide down her cheeks and drop silently onto her.

"Amy…I'm just…scared, scared to…," Ty began to reply as he couldn't help but set his hands over the top of hers on his knees while gritting his teeth to sit back up and look right back at her, becoming angry at himself at the sight of how much pain and regret there was in her eyes, telling him what he already knew, that she truly was sorry for her actions.

"I know Ty, I'm scared to…guess that just means that it's all real," Amy halfheartedly shrugged back with a scared and nervous smile before sniffling to fight back another fit of tears as Ty hung his head but didn't move his hands.

"So…what now," Ty mumbled softly with a lost tone to his voice as he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do next to fix the impasse between them, and he somberly guessed that neither did Amy.

"Well…now…we…start off small, see where that…takes us," Amy slowly stuttered unsurely as TY had been right that she didn't know what to do next to fix things between them but he did take some solace in the confirmation that she wanted their break to end every bit as much as he did.

111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

Ty's Trailer-Three Days Later

She had been on pins and needles since Ty had moved back to the trailer. On the third day since he had left Heartland Amy felt as if a part of her was missing, more so even than when he had first moved out to his new home away from home. The wait to see him again, now that it was allowed, seemed to be even more agonizing than when it had been against the rules of the break. They had secretly met and talked a couple more times, though at both discussions neither had an idea how to end the break regardless of how much both seriously wanted to. They had come close to kissing many times, with still neither sure what had caused the interruption and them to hesitate. This particular visit she had expected to be brief, though in the end it would be entirely out of her control.

"Ty…are you here," Amy called out loudly enough that if Ty were in the trailer he would hear her without shouting as she lazily trailed a hand across the side of his truck, almost as if she were saying hi to an old friend again after a long absence.

"Nnh…Amy, that you," Ty sleepily called out as Amy heard him staggering around inside the trailer until the door popped open and he leaned against the doorway to keep himself standing as he had just woken up moments before Amy had called out to him.

"Yeah Ty it's…it's…oh," Amy started to calmly answer with a badly suppressed smile before she turned to look at Ty and her stomach flipped over and her breath caught in her throat. Unintentionally Ty hadn't bothered to put on anything past his boxers and so for a few moments it was all that Amy could do to keep from pouncing on him right then and there. She bit her lip almost hard enough to draw blood as she took every square inch of him in with her eyes before he realized how undressed he really was and went to put something more on.

"Amy…are you okay, I…oh…sorry, just gimme a minute and I'll…," Ty started to mumble back as his became more fully awake while ruffling his hair a bit before he glanced down, after noticing the oddly happy and hungry expression on her face, and realized how little he had on.

"Please don't…," Amy weakly mumbled as a touch of melancholy came over her as Ty ducked back inside the trailer and threw the first pair of jeans and shirt on that he came across, dragging on a pair of socks and his shoes before he went back to the door.

"Sorry about that, I had a late night with Bob at the preserve, must have overslept," Ty remarked with a bit of a self-deprecating smirk as he adjusted the fit of his shirt and couldn't help but yawn widely as he shuffled his way over to the couch and sat down.

"Just a bit…how are you doing, the bruises look better," Amy admitted thankfully with a warm and appreciative smile as she sat down on the couch next to him with their fingers almost touching at their sides.

"They don't hurt as much so that's a plus but…," Ty replied with as deep of a breath as he dared as he leaned back on the couch and couldn't help but grin a little with a hand on his side over the largest and darkest of the bruises.

"But what Ty," Amy questioned aloud with a cute little furrowing of her brows as she leaned in closer to him and laid a hand on his knee without thinking about the break, something that she would remember warmly later as he didn't pull away or seem upset by it in the least.

"But sometimes when I twist or turn a bit too quickly or sharply…they hurt, like getting kicked in the chest by a horse, hurts like hell, almost takes my breath away," Ty answered with another deep breath as he rolled his head to the side to look at Amy and smile as confidently as he could, hoping to get the worried look that he saw on her face off of it as quickly as possible before he had a little slip of the tongue.

"Thought that was my job," Amy snickered softly to him with a warm smile and blush to her cheeks as she leaned in closer and leaned her shoulder against his, keeping it there as he spoke again.

"Heh, it is…and you do it so well too," Ty openly laughed back with an almost giddy grin before he leaned his head in towards hers until their foreheads were touching; only awkwardly pulling back a little when he realized just how close the two were physically.

"Ah…thanks," Amy softly cooed back with a great amount of love in her gaze and tone of voice as she kept close to Ty and then blushed deeply and began to pick at a stain on his thigh with her fingernail, glad for something…anything else to think about rather than the overwhelming urge to kiss Ty lest the moment pass her by.

"Do you…want to go for a walk, or do you have a client that needs you to…," Ty asked softly in an attempt to change the subject as he gritted his teeth a bit and stood back up, knowing full well that Amy was watching his every move closely.

"A walk sounds nice, let's go," Amy replied with a warm smile as she hopped up off of the couch and began to follow Ty away from the trailer and down the well-trodden path through the grass, glad to be doing something with him besides arguing.

"Good, let's go," Ty called back over to her with a relieved but still anxious look to him as he slid his hands into his pockets and tried to appear relaxed, though she knew him better than that.

"Was there…something specific that you wanted to talk about or were you maybe just a little bit lonely perhaps," Amy demanded a bit impatiently as she really wanted to know what was on his mind but wasn't quite to the point of just wanting him to tell her outright.

"Maybe a bit of both," Ty sheepishly admitted as he balled up his hands into fists in his pockets all while trying not to look directly at Amy lest she be able to read him like a book as they slowly continued on down the path through the grass.

"Oh…okay, you have your bad news face…Ty…please don't…," Amy commented a bit uneasily as she caught a clear bit of sight of the expression on Ty's face and began to brace herself for the worst, fearful of what was yet to come her way as she saw it.

"My what…my bad news face…I don't have a bad news face, what makes you think that…," Ty started to ask with a confused look to him before he shook it off and went forward instead with a different question of trying to figure out why Amy suddenly looked more than a bit nervous and scared.

"Sorry, it's just that every time that you've had that look on your face you've told me bad news…and…right now I don't think that I could take any more bad news," Amy apologized with a guilty and embarrassed look to her as she hurried up and got in front of Ty so that she could stop him from walking faster than her and forcing her to keep up with him.

"It's not bad news, but it is important," Ty calmly answered as he did his very best to not wear the expression that Amy had described as his bad news face, though given that he wasn't quite sure what that particular one felt like he wasn't sure whether he had succeeded or not.

"How…important," Amy nervously asked as she reached up and set a hand on Ty's shoulder so that he would be forced to look at her and not turn away in case it was bad news.

"Well…that depends on where we go from here…I talked to Scott and after a bit of groveling I'm back at the clinic so…," Ty slowly answered through a nervous smile that made Amy's inside do flip flops before she could managed to calm down and sense that this was a good thing but she wasn't quite sure how just yet.

"So…what Ty," Amy added a bit under her breath as she took a step closer to Ty until the toes of their shoes were touching and she could look him right in the eye, feeling her body temperature rising at being so close to him.

"So then you'll know where to find me when you visit, maybe keep me company on my overnight shifts," Ty said as he did his best to try and act casual about the idea though Amy could see a twinkle in his eye and a bit of a smile on his lips that led her to believe that he had told her that in the hope that she would take him up on the offer sooner rather than later.

"Oh yeah, and who says that I'll want to visit you, and I do need my beauty sleep ya know," Amy pouted back at him with a fake snooty tone to her words as she turned her head and lifted it skyward so that her nose was up in the air, though the whole time she kept a firm gaze locked onto Ty to catch his every reaction.

"Well, if you don't want to spend time with me I'll understand," Ty shrugged back a bit sheepishly as he made a point of pulling away from Amy and taking a few steps away from her but he kept himself from doing it in an aggressive manner and he stopped a short distance ahead and glanced back at her to check to see if she was still following him or not.

"Hey now, I didn't mean it like that, I was just teasing you a little…all in good fun," Amy shot back with a nervous smile as she started to hurry to catch up to him but he spun around on his heels and surprised her by wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close with her back up against him.

"Good fun huh," Ty snickered under his breath against her neck that sent a very pleasurable shiver down her spin before he began to tickle her mercilessly, earning him a fit of laughter and plenty of squirming on her part as she fought to free herself, though Amy knew that he was just playing with her she still wanted to make things as interesting and fun as possible for both.

"Of course…why, what did you think that I meant," Amy managed to get out in between taking as big of breaths as she could muster and small and short fits of laughter as she teasingly struggled to try to either gain her freedom from his arms, which she had no real interest in doing, or somehow turn the tables on him.

"Beats me, then again you are quite the mystery to me," Ty offered up back with an impish smirk as the two continued to playfully wrestle around before he tripped over one of her feet and the two went down in a heap, with Amy landing on top of Ty and she silently checked to make sure that he was okay before she said anything more.

"It's a gift," Amy remarked with a sly grin and a wink to Ty before she noticed that the two were now nose to nose and she was finding it extremely hard to keep from kissing him.

"Oh yeah," Ty whispered under his breath before she could act, as he seemed to sense the reason for the hesitation, and he cut the tension by beginning to tickle her much stronger than he had been doing just a few moments earlier.

"No…heh, Ty…stop…please…," Amy loudly laughed out loud with each breath that she could take as for a few moments she just let go and reacted to his actions before he spoke up.

"You want me to stop then you'll just have to…make me," Ty joked softly as he and Amy continued to wrestle around on the ground with neither really having any interest in separating or stopping.

"You asked for it," Amy commented as she acted upon the only thought and desire that was running rampant through her head and heart at that exact moment and leaned in close as soon as their faces were directly apart from each other and just kissed Ty full on the lips. She was soon lost in the moment of the kiss, just hoping against hope in the back of her mind that he wouldn't push her away and scream and yell at her for what she'd done. It took her a few moments to realize that he had stopped tickling her and instead was then kissing her back with as much ferocity as she was kissing him with. Neither knew how long it was before their lips parted ways but she was sure that they both only did so because of their need to breathe.

"Amy…you…you," Ty struggled to say anything as the feeling of her lips on his was sending his brain and his emotions into overdrive as he was torn between his two sides. One side was angry at what she had done while the other wanted nothing more than to kiss her again for all that he was worth, kiss her again and never stop.

"Oh…God, I'm sorry Ty I…," Amy started to apologize with a deep blush to her cheeks as she felt that although the kiss had taken her breath away she probably shouldn't have done it but Ty stopped her by looping an arm around the back of her head and pulling her back down into a kiss that sent her reeling.

"We…we should," Ty tried to get out as he was having to work to draw in enough breath after two rather lengthy kisses from Amy as she very reluctantly sat up while straddling him across his waist.

"Go to…trailer…don't worry Ty…I'll be gentle," Amy breathed back to him with still a deep blush to her cheeks as she got back up to her feet and pulled Ty up with her before the two headed back towards the trailer, silently hoping that no one would ask her about the grass stains on her clothes.

END OF STORY

Author's Note: Thanks again to everyone for reading and reviewing this and the other stories that I've written. Sorry about the length but I just couldn't really help myself. This is similar in some ways to my earlier story though it has some big differences. Yeah I know the reason that Amy left with the stupid Prince was because the producer wanted it I just could view it as like his mom and dad Amy leaving Ty, as everyone that he'd ever loved up to that point walked out on him and he could have seen it that way. That Amy was the very last person that he ever thought would do that, and then she did. In this story the break is over without either really realizing it. I don't know how long the break actually lasted on the show but perhaps it took about the same amount of time that Amy spent in Europe as kind of a karmic payback. I think that if she didn't that Lou should have apologized to both Amy and Ty for telling Amy not to tell Ty about the kiss, which is odd considering that Amy told Ty about the kiss that she had with Chase way back when but then couldn't with the prince for whatever reason, if only to create more drama.

I also wonder why no woman has shown any interest in Ty since Blair in season four, not that I want anything to happen on that end but when compared to almost every season some guy has the hots for Amy. I've been a Ty and Amy fan since day one and want them to be together to and through the end of the series. I'd also like to see a second Christmas couple of episodes like they did back in season three. I'd like it to be that a big part of those couple of episodes would be Ty and Amy and their kids, as they would have twin boys, with their first Christmas in their new home. The twins would cause Amy and Ty to have to move out of the loft and away from Heartland, which I think would cause Amy more trouble than Ty, as to him home would be wherever Amy and the kids are. I still think that Amy and Ty should have at least four kids, if not six as I've had an image in my mind of Ty and Amy sitting at a dining table with their three sons on one side and three daughters on the other. I had an idea for Ty surprising Amy with a renewal of their vows up in Pike River, as she would think that they were just going up for the weekend without Lyndy.

Ty would surprise her with the rest of the family and such and they'd do the renewal in that little chapel where they almost got married in and such, maybe at Christmas time, and perhaps have some threat almost keep them from doing it. I still like the idea of Ty and Amy and Lyndy from the end of season thirteen going back in time somehow to just before the crash that killed Marion happened and then have to interact with their younger selves and such. Either that or say that when Marion died she would be pushed forward in time until the end of the thirteenth season and have her see all of the changes. I'm still a fan of Lou and Scott but won't hold my breath over it. I wonder who will get Heartland when Jack dies, as I don't see Mitch or Ty ever viewing Heartland as their home but rather Jack's house. I would like to see Ty and Amy either get that dream home of theirs from back in season seven or leave town at the end to start fresh in a new town.

The fourteenth season if it happens could have Amy pregnant with twin boys, that Ty would be there for the whole thing, and that they'd name the boys Jackson Timothy and Bradley Scott, if only to see Jack's reaction to the names. I wonder if they could work a little sister into the works for Ty, one that he wouldn't have known about as Brad would have had a one night stand or something with a woman so that when she shows up at Heartland the sister would be about the same age as Amy was when the show first started, that the sister only learned of her true parentage after either her mother and stepfather died or her foster parents died and she found her birth certificate listing Brad Borden as her father. I wouldn't mind a Ty and Amy and their kids spinoff but again I'm not sure that the actors would want to continue playing Ty and Amy so again I won't hold my breath. I wouldn't mind never seeing the likes of Kerry Ann or Jesse or the stupid Prince ever again but if we did then it'd only be to show them that they were wrong, would love to see Amy punch the prince and threaten him before he left. I wonder what happened to Jen, I guess they just wrote her out. And I wonder how much Ashley knows what's going on in Hudson with everybody, like does she know that Caleb got married again and that Ty and Amy have a kid and such. At the end of this story I left it open so that if the reader wants to think that Ty and Amy had sex then that's fine with me, and if people wanted to think that they didn't then that's fine with me. I've seen people wondering if the two did have sex on the show before they got married as they did have plenty of chances to. Thank You


End file.
